Lions Pride
by blooperdude2
Summary: The story of a hunter who was always in the right place, but not quite strong enough to handle the situation. Features an OC, Neo and a crap ton of other characters. This is the first story I've written so constructive criticism is highly appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

"So I ask you: when the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?"

A man was sitting outside, leaning against a building. The slight wind rustled his slightly spiked green hair. Standing up quickly, he straightened his red jacket and dusted off his black shirt. He connected the dots, realizing that the woman in the red dress on top of the building was the same woman speaking all over Vale. He quickly weighed his options: either fight this woman head on and possibly lose, or call for backup. As he fumbled with his scroll trying to call back up, the woman began to leave. He gave chase, yelling "Get back here!" The woman turned around, smiling. "You're like a lamb to a slaughter. What do you think you could do against me?"

Bracing himself, Sonatro drew his weapon, Wrymslayer, a serrated katana. As he sunk into a defensive stance, the woman created shards out of dust, sending them flying at him. Slicing them with his sword, he smirked, making sure to show his opponent that he was confident, but not arrogant. "Sorry Princess, I'm not going down to a little dust."

The woman smiled. "I suppose I have a little bit of time to toy with you." She formed her blades from what looked like crystal, and charged at Sonatro. Predicting exactly where his opponent would strike, he moved his weapon to block, and attacked with a lengthwise cut, followed by a dust powered ice slash. She simply smiled at him. "You'll be one I remember for sure. Goodbye for now." As she ran away, the flat side of a shard hit Sonatro in the head, knocking him unconscious.

When he finally came to, the skies were blackened by the Grimm. Mentally cursing himself for getting knock out so easy, Sonatro immediately made way towards the city square, to help any civilians in danger. Drawing his weapon, Wyrmslayer, he dove at a King Taigitu, stabbing it through its eye and killing it. As it slumped to the ground, the green haired Hunter quickly changed his weapon to its long barrel magnum form, shooting Griffons out of the sky. He was an incredible shot, not a single bullet failing to hit its target.

Then he saw something strange. There's was a splotch of color in the otherwise dark sky. Someone was in the air, floating down on an... Parasol? Choosing not to question, Sonatro activated his semblance, causing the hair on his head and neck to grow into a thick mane. His hands grew sharp claws and tough pads. Sprinting towards the falling person in his lion form, he jumped from a bus stop to the roof of a nearby building, leaping and catching the colorful person on his back.

As his escort got off of his back, he transformed back to take a look at the woman. Pink and black hair with a strange outfit, reminding him of ice cream.

"Are you alright, miss?" When she didn't reply, Sonatro was momentarily confused, then took out his Scroll, handing it to the woman. She typed, "Yes, I'm fine thanks to you."

"Good. Now... We should get the hell out of here. Are you okay to fight?" The woman nodded.

The two dropped from the rooftop to the city streets, and made way for a road out of town. A large pack of Ursas surrounded the colorful duo. Drawing Wrymslayer, Sonatro made a vertical cut, slicing a Grimm clean in half. He moved in circle, killing the Grimm in what seemed like one continuous motion. They made it outside of the city, and collapsed in a clearing, resting momentarily.

"We need to keep moving. Hold on." Transforming back to his lion form, he urged the woman onto his back before taking off, running with no destination in mind. All he knew is that he needed to get as far away from Beacon as possible.

o0o0o0o0o0o

A/N Note: Many apologies for any grammer mistakes. I'm used to writing something, then going back and looking it over with an editor to fix said mistakes. Otherwise, thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

A/R Note: People actually read this? And they liked it? What is this world coming to!

Jokes aside, thank you for your continued reading of this half decent Fanfiction.

The two were running for a long time. They didn't stop until daytime, constantly traveling west. When Sonatro was finally exhausted, the woman dismounted him, allowing him to change back.

"You know... You never told me your name, Miss." The woman nodded, pulling out her Scroll and typing a message. "The name is Neapolitan, Neo for short. I don't believe you introduced yourself either." She handed him the scroll.

"Nice to meet you Neo. The name is Sonatro. Sonatro Galeix. Or as other hunters know me, Lion Blade. You may have gathered why by now." She smiled at him. Opening up a map on her Scroll, she pointed to Sonatro where they were.

"Ah! We're right by Patch! We'll be able to regroup with a few hunters there. There should be ferry or something of the sort running. We may have to wait for a few days though."

He turned back to Vale to see a bright flash of white light at the top of the CCT. The huge dragon just stopped moving entirely. Sonatro was confused. Neo looked as well, bewildered. "Well... That just adds to my current list of questions."

They ended up staying the night at a hotel in the city nearby. The ferry came back the next day, and Sonatro payed the cost for both himself and Neo. However, as the ferry was about to leave, the green haired Hunter noticed a few more people coming up. An older man, who looked somewhat drunk. In his arms were a younger girl, with red tipped hair, wearing a red combat dress. There was also a blonde who... Sonatro turned away at the sight to speak with the ferryman.

"Sir, there's a few more people looking to make way to Patch." The driver nodded, and Sonatro stepped back outside, meeting with the new passengers. Neo had a worried look on her face.

The older man spoke. "Hey there, Lion Blade. Haven't seen you in a while." Sonatro smiled. "Nice to see you too, Qrow. Who's the one in your arms?"

"My niece, Ruby. She went through some pretty rough stuff... I can tell you a bit more of what happened in Vale if you weren't already there. And the blonde one... Is Yang."

Sonatro looked to his side, his temperament immediately souring. The Golden Dragon that he heard Qrow talk about so often was now disarmed. He knew it was a bad joke and didn't say it out loud. She looked to him, sorrow in her eyes. That sorrow immediately change to anger upon spotting Neo.

"Why. The fuck. Is she here?" Yang furiously asked. "She's one of the ones who caused all this! Throw her off the boat! Hell, I'll do it myself if I have to! I have one good arm!"

Neo stood up, walking over to Yang. Dropping to her knees, she looked like she was begging.

"Yang..." Sonatro put a hand on her shoulder. "She's asking you to forgive her. We don't know why she was fighting. Maybe she was forced to. We need to hear the whole story before we pass judgement."

"Fine. But if you give me one good reason to, I'm throwing you in the water." Neo nodded. The ferryman called from the cabin, "everyone ready?"

Qrow called back, "Good to go, sir. Ready when you are." As the ship started, Sonatro pulled out a note book and a pen, handing both to Neo, who was sitting next to him. "Yang is going to want to know your story, best explain it now when we have the chance." She nodded and took the notebook, writing furiously but cleanly.

"So Qrow, tell me everything. What the hell happened? One of the last things I saw was a bright light from the top of the CCT. I need he full story."

"Well... Do you know the story of the four seasons?"

o0o0o0o0o

"Fuck... That's a lot... So now what?" Qrow had told Sonatro and everyone else on deck about Cinder's attack on Amber, the plan to use Phyra as the next fall maiden, the destruction of the CCT and Ozpin going MIA.

"Now? We wait. We wait to heal our wounds. Figure out our plan. Then we fight back. Nothing else much to do, really," Qrow said with a sigh. "It's a shame, but it's the best plan we have."

"We. Sure." Yang scoffed. "I'm not doing anything it seems." Sonatro looked down at Yang's right arm. The entire forearm was severed. Opening her bag, she threw her weapons, the Ember Cylica, to the floor of the ship. "I'm done. I'll never fight again."

Sonatro looked to Neo, who was still writing but listening in nonetheless. She looked to him, and looked to Yang, then looked back to the notebook.

"Yang, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to the other members of your team?" Qrow had told him previously about team RWBY, and Sonatro had seen them in action during the Grimm attack, which he had called "The Breech."

"Well... One of our team mates, Wiess Schnee, got picked up by her father. She's on her way back to Atlus as we speak."

"And there was one more. Blake Bell-"

"She ran. She fucking ran! Like she always fucking does! Our friend Sun saw her leave and to that I say good fucking riddance!" Sonatro was taken aback by the sudden anger and contempt for Blake. Sonatro knew what is was however. He'd seen it in his previous team, Team STRR. When their team mate Ryder left for family reasons, Rina was extremely bitter, similar to Yang's actions. But that's because she loved Ryder, and didn't want him to leave.

Sonatro remembered something and groaned loudly, putting his hand on the top of his head, elbow in front of his face. "Damn it!" Qrow looked to him. "What's wrong, Lion?"

"I'm gonna miss Rina and Ryder's wedding! There's no way I'm making it to Minstrel in 3 days now! And I have no way to tell them except via a carrier bird, which isn't happening..."

Qrow smiled. "I'll find one for you, dude. Where do they live?"

"Right around Minstrel's center city, near a park. Neo, are you done writing?" The multicolored girl nodded, handing him the note book. He wrote a letter of apology and well wishes. Tearing the page out, he handed it to Qrow. "Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me." Qrow shrugged. "You're right, I don't."

Tapping his shoulder, Sonatro turned back to Neo, who handed him the note book. It seemed like she wanted him to read it for everyone.

"Alright, Neo's ready." Qrow placed his elbows on his legs and leaned forward, while Yang leaned back, arm behind her head. Neo simply sat with her hands on her knees.

"I didn't want to fight. I had no choice..."

A/R Note: This chapter is a lot longer for some reason, I'm not sure why. But yeah, that's chapter 2. My Take on Neo's backstory next time. And I totally didn't realize this while writing chapter one, but I just add to the wizard of Oz cast theme. Cause Sonatro's a lion. May or may not run with that, we shall see.

So yeah! Leave some constructive criticism in the reviews if you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

"Roman and I were pretty much common thieves. Stealing from dust stores, jewelers, the sort. We didn't have a past, at least one that we wanted to remember. Then Cinder came to us with an offer we couldn't refuse. She told us of her plan, and gave us two options: either help her, or be killed. We chose to help." Yang scoffed, which earned her a glare from Sonatro. Looking back to the book, he continued.

"She constantly threatened us, so we basically had no choice but to fight for her. We would have done something different if given the choice, but that wasn't an option." Sonatro looked back up from the paper, turning to Neo. "Is that all?" She nodded.

"Liar! You chose to fight for her!" Yang jolted up, a furious look in her eyes. She stomped her way over to Neo, but Sonatro stepped in-between the two girls. "Yang, stop. You need to think rationally. Even if you don't believe Neo, she could still be a huge asset. There's no reason to hold grudges. What happened has happened. So sit your ass down and breathe."

The 4 sat in silence the rest of the boat ride, awkwardly looking at each other and the ground. When the boat arrived at Patch, Qrow hoisted Ruby into his arms. "We're heading to their dad's house. You can follow if you'd like." Nodding, Sonatro and Neo followed Qrow and Yang to the family's home. The walk was similar to the boat ride: quiet and awkward. Neo may have been the reason for it, but she never said anything to Sonatro about it. Her face was unreadable, so it wasn't worth prodding her.

Upon reaching the family home, they were greeted by Qrow's brother, who quickly took Ruby and put her in her bedroom upstairs. He came down to see who else besides his family was at his home, and tilted his head. "And who are these two with the colorful hair?"

Sonatro chuckled, and an amused smile formed on Neo's face. "The name is Sonatro Galeix, or Lion Blade as my peers call me. Pleased to meet you..." the green haired Hunter didn't finish cause he was expecting the other man to introduce himself.

"Taiyang. You can simply call me Tai. And our lady friend here?" Grabbing the notebook, Neo began writing quickly, Sonatro throwing in, "She's mute." Taiyang nodded, Neo handing him the book moments later. "Call me Neo. I'd like to apologize for what I've done."

Taiyang nodded, handing the book back to her. "You're still not my friend, but you're far from an enemy, it seems. There's an inn a few miles out. If you two could stay there it'd be appreciated. We don't have enough room in here." Sonatro nodded in understanding. He turned to leave, Neo behind him.

"So... Would it be terrible to ask you about your past?" They'd been walking down the road for about 10 minutes, and Sonatro was legitimately curious.

Neo shook her head, and wrote one thing down in the note book: "My mother was a Fanus, my father was a human."

Sonatro immediately understood. There was this race of people, who were of mixed blood, who were either referred to as Sub-Humans, or Branded. As the child of a mixed heritage grows up, a brand manifests on their skin, similar to a birthmark.

Branded people were often on the outskirts of society, either forced into to become a criminal, like Neo, or work less savory jobs.

"Well... I guess others aren't as lucky as me, huh?" Neo nodded at first, then gasped. Sonatro was branded, the shape of a lion's head etched into his upper right arm. "I managed to make it somehow. Became a hunter, a great one." Covering his arm, he looked to the sky. "We aren't defined by our parents, or the things we've done in the past. We're defined by the things we do now." Chuckling, he continued walking. Neo was smiling, obviously touched by Sonatro's speech.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Days later, Sonatro woke up early in the morning for a walk. The street lights were still on, and leaning against one of them was a familiar face. Qrow walked up to him, handing him a letter. "I'm sure you can guess who this is from." Nodding, Sonatro opened it.

"Greetings and Salutations, Lion Blade. We hope you're doing alright after the tragedy in Vale. We completely understand you not being able to see the wedding, although we really wish you could come. I'll be sure to save some cake for our next meet up. Until then!

Sincerely,

Ryder and Rina."

Sonatro smiled, folding the message and putting it in his bag. "I was about to visit Ruby, wanna come with?" Qrow smelled awful, probably still drunk for some reason. "Yeah, I've got nothing better to do." The two walked to he house, chatting along the way.

"So if Mercury and Yang had a rematch, who would win?"

"Well... I'm not honestly sure. It's obvious from what Neo told me that it was a set up. He was supposed to lose on purpose, while Emerald made Yang hallucinate and make it look like Mercury attacked her. However, if it was a totally fair fight, I'm not sure who would win."

Qrow nodded, then turned to knock of Taiyang's door. "Ah. Come in you two. Yang just woke up if either of you would care to talk with her."

Sonatro turned to Qrow. "Should I? I'm guessing she doesn't want to hear from the person siding with a former enemy."

"No. Speak to her. She has to realize that Neo isn't an enemy." Qrow walked away silently, as Sonatro made his way to the guest bedroom. He knocked on the door. "Yang? If like to speak to you."

"You can come in as long as Neo isn't with you." Opening the door, he sat down on a chair, crossing his legs. "How've you been holding up?"

"Not great... But I guess I've been holding..." She looked crestfallen as she glanced at the Ember Celica, which lay on a bedside table. "And yourself?"

"Figuring out what I'm gonna do. I'm not entirely sure yet. Neo and I have been discussing trying to find other members of Beacon, particularly the remnants of Team JNPR and the entirety of Team CFFV. Basically try and find as many huntsman and huntresses as possible." Yang nodded. "Doesn't sound like a terrible idea."

"Yeah, I suppose not. That's not why I'm here to talk to you." Sonatro's face grew more serious, leaning forward in his chair, arms resting on his lap. "Neo isn't your enemy. She's here to he-"

"I've realized that by now. Neo is more of a friend than Blake will ever be." Yang interrupted, obviously bitter about her parter abandoning her. "Can you please leave? I've got stuff to think about."

Sonatro nodded, standing up and closing the door behind him. Qrow just left Ruby's room. "She's awake. Talk to her if you'd like." Nodding, Sonatro stood in Ruby's doorway, and knocked on the door. It was already open, but Sonatro didn't want to intrude. A light voice called, "come in."

Sonatro came in and leaned against the wall, studying the young girls features. Black hair with red tips, silver eyes and a very sweet smile. "You're Ruby Rose. The name is Sonatro. Sonatro Galeix. Pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Sona. I'd say your full name but I'm feeling lazy." Sonatro scoffed in amusement. "Honestly, you have every right to be lazy after what happened." The two laughed for a moment. "So why are you here, Sona? What would you like to talk about?"

Walking closer to her, he simply replied, "I was just wondering if there was anything I could possibly do for you. And not something around the house I mean. Is there something I need to go off of Patch for?"

Ruby thought for a moment, then nodded. "There is something. Can you close the door?" The young girls face was deadly serious. He got up to close the door, then kneeled by her bedside. "So my dad doesn't want me to leave, but I'm going to anyways." Sonatro knew the exact feeling. "There's three people I need you to find. Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Ren. Find them, and tell them to meet me here once winter comes. Alright?" Sonatro nodded. There was another knock at the door. Sonatro opened it, and the person in the door caused Ruby to scream.

"What is SHE doing here!?"

A/R Note: Yeah, little bit of a cliffhanger here. Sorry to the hundreds of people reading this fanfic.

In all seriousness, thanks for reading this half decent story. The idea of Branded actually come's from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, basically replace Fanus with Laguz and there you go. Remember to review if you enjoyed this story! Good bye!


	4. Chapter 4

Jumping out of her bed, Ruby rushed towards Crecent Rose, but a quick kick from Sonatro knocked the weapon away towards Neo, who picked it up. "Ruby, she's not an enemy. You don't have to worry." Neo nodded, placing the scythe on the floor and kicking it back towards the younger girl. "She's on our side now."

Ruby nodded. Neo's face had a worried look, which was quite unusual. She pulled out the note book, but Ruby knew what she was about to ask.

"Roman is dead. Eaten alive by a Griffon. I'm sorry, I can tell he meant a lot to you."

Neo dropped to her knees, eyes tearing. Sonatro knelt down beside her, looking to Ruby. "We need a bit of space, it you wouldn't mind." The younger girl nodded, exiting the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Neo bawled, head leaning on Sonatro's shoulder, the latter embracing her lightly. "It's okay. It's okay." Sonatro knew his words were hollow, but he said them anyways, in a vain attempt to comfort the mute. She started making strained noises, attempting to speak. Nothing coherent came from noises, just signs of obvious pain. "I'm here for you. I'm not Roman, that's for sure. But I'm somebody who can lend a shoulder. So just cry for now. It'll be alright." Sonatro knew this pain.

There was one other member of Team STRR, or Team Storm. His name was Taylor. Taylor was... Troubled greatly. When they took a trip to his hometown, Taylor's father killed him. Nobody could believe what happened. No one knew the circumstances, as the man was immediately tried and convicted of murder, sending him to prison for life. Ryder and Rina where totally heartbroken, crying for days. Sonatro wasn't sad, but confused. Going into full days of researcher, Sonatro came to the conclusion that Taylor had no past. It's like he never existed.

The loss had still weighed heavy on his heart, like Neo's loss of Roman. The mute had stopped crying, and was snoring lightly. Sonatro chuckled, picking her up and laying her on the couch downstairs. He eyes were puffy and red. Taiyang watched in silence, only speaking to Sonatro once he had Neo situated.

"She seems to be in a bit rough spot."

"Well, considering her life long friend was just killed... I can't blame her. You'd be just as sad if one of your..." He stopped talking, realizing what he said. "I am so sorry."

"It's alright. You forgot for a moment. We all do sometimes."

"Do you know where a lot of the huntsmen and huntresses have regrouped after the Vale attack?"

"They made a base a few miles out from there, why do you ask?"

"I've got something I need to do. Once Neo and I are ready, we're heading out."

A/N note: hello again! Thanks for reading once more! I may make Taylor's existence a main part of the story, tell me what you guys think in a review!

Apologies for for a shorter chapter, I felt the need to get this one out there, cause it may be a while before my next post, and it'll be a big one. Until then, thank you and sayonara!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: So the purpose of this is to make much more obvious what exactly Sonatro's semblance is. As Sonatro is a branded, he uniquely inherited a portion of both of the semblances his parents used. One of them in the change to his lion form, as his father was a multi animal shape shifter. Sonatro only inherited the lion form.

Now this is where things get a bit more complicated. Sonatro's mother was a Ronin. If you're familiar with Etrian Odyssey, you know how Ronins operate. Otherwise, it's like this.

Sonatro has three stances: an upper stance, where he holds his sword with two hands above his head, a clear stance, where he holds his sword at his side, and a drawing stance, where he returns the sword to its sheathe. From there he has two abilities he can use from each stance.

From upper stance, he combines an attack with flame dust for Flame Grater, or Swallow Strike, which is a multi hit attack. From clear stance, he can use Lightning dust for Lightning Stab, or aim to disarm his opponent with Disarming Strike. From drawing stance, he can either utilize ice dust for Frigid Slash, or attempt a quick draw for Beheading Slash. His mother had access to a Peerless Stance, which let her use any attack no matter the stance.

Sonatro shook Neo awake. "Come on. We need to go." It'd been three days since Ruby woke up and told Neo the unfortunate news. Sitting up in her bed, Neo nodded. Sonatro left the room to let her change clothes from the simple pink nightgown she wore. Reviewing the route to the Hunter camp, he realized something. They would be passing right through Taylor's hometown. It may finally be time to get some answers.

Neo walked out of her room, wearing her usual outfit. They'd started communicating via sign language. "So we know the route, right?" she signed.

"Yeah. There's gonna be a bit of a hold up at one point, once we hit the town of Greil. We can rest for a few days, and I have something I want to look into." Neo nodded in response, signing back, "take as long as you need there." They exited the inn and starting making their way towards the pier.

"So now that Roman's gone you're gonna fight on the losing side? Such a shame." The voice rang from the trees. Neo tensed up, and Sonatro drew his sword, waiting in an Upper Stance. A girl with a dark complexion, red eyes and green hair made herself visible. "Why hello again Neo. Fancy seeing you here. Who's your friend?"

"Sonatro Galeix, and who's asking?" He sheathed his sword, deciding that Draw stance may be better here. He signed to Neo, "get ready." The small girl took her parasol out.

"Emerald Sustrai. I'm sorry, your friend is gonna have to come with me." Their opponent took her weapon, a falx, into her hand. "My quarrel is not with you, katana boy. Leave and you won't get hurt."

"But it is my quarrel. You mess with my friend and you mess with me." He smirked. Emerald extended her weapon, sending it flying towards Sonatro. Drawing Wyrmslayer quickly, he knocked the two weapons away from him. "Don't underestimate me."

Emerald charged towards him, slashing with her sickles. Sonatro deftly intercepted every attack, and kicked his opponent square in her stomach. She flew backwards, rolling and landing on her feet. "So you can fight. I can fight better." Switching her weapon to their gun form, Emerald started shooting at Sonatro rapidly. Rolling behind cover, he switched his own weapon, and took a single, high power shot at her. Emerald barely dodged the attack, the bullet inches from her face. Sonatro's sage green aura glowed around him. "Ready to call it quits?"

Suddenly, an Ursa appeared from behind Sonatro with no warning. He went to slash at it, but was met by Emerald knocking him to his feet with her weapon. He tried to attack with a Disarming Strike, but Emerald didn't allow him any time to switch his stances, slashing at him again and again, opening several small cuts around his body. He fell to his knees, where she then wrapped a chain around his leg and dragged him towards her. She put a gun to his head. "Sayonara, shit heel."

She was suddenly knocked away by a kick from Neo, who simply smiled. Sonatro stood back up, moving to an Upper Stance. Emerald knew she was out numbered, but chose to fight anyways. Attempting to slash at Neo, the smaller girl simply dodged around the attacks, attacking on her own with quick blows. Sonatro moved to his Clear Stance, where he then quickly thrusted forward with his sword, electrocuting Emerald. She stood up, panting as smoke still rose from her body, "You got lucky this time. But don't forget this. I am everywhere. Watching your every move. And the exact moment you slip up, where you make one wrong move, you're as good as dead." She slipped back into the shadows with those words.

"A former associate of yours?" Sonatro asked, half joking. Neo giggled, signing, "Yes. She's not exactly the best to work with. However, her semblance is extremely powerful, able to force hallucinations."

"So that's why Yang seemingly attacked Mercury Black during the tournament?" Neo nodded. "Wow... We need to watch out then. She's bad news bears, for sure." While Sonatro grinned, Neo simply shook her head and sighed.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

As the multicolor duo boarded the ferry returning to the main land, Sonatro was deep in thought. There was a lot to consider: the return to Taylor's hometown of Griel, and possibly figuring out what exactly happened in his former teammate's past. There was not only Emerald to worry about, but Mercury could come and attack them as well. For all they knew Cinder herself could show up if they proved a large enough threat.

Neo put a hand on his shoulder, which was difficult because Sonatro was a few inches taller than her. She smiled, and signed, "Whatever happens, just know I will stick with you, alright?" Sonatro nodded.

"Are you two ready back there?" The ferryman called. "Yup! We're good to go!" Sonatro called back cheerily.

"Then let's get going!"

A/N note: yay! More combat! I hope I didn't portray Sonatro as too strong of a hunter, cause a fight coming up is gonna be rough for him.


	6. Chapter 6

The ferry docked a few hours later. Sonatro shouldered his bag and stepped off, Neo right behind him.

"Alright. So just to review, we're gonna be going east of here, towards the city of Griel. Then we'll stop in town for a few days, do whatever is needed, and then set out again. Then we make it to the Hunter Encampment, find the rest of Team JNPR, and travel back. Got it?"

Neo nodded, signing back, "I never asked, why are we stopping for so long in Griel?"

"Um... It's a bit of a personal issue. We have a lot of walking to do, so I can explain on our way." Walking through town, Sonatro decided to take off his distinctive red jacket, stuffing it into his backpack. He pulled out a dark blue hoodie, and changed into that, pulling the hood over his head. He handed another hoody to Neo, this one a burgundy color. "Our hair makes us pretty obvious, don't you agree?" She giggled, putting the hood up.

When the reached the end of the port town, Sonatro decided to start his story. "So the reason we're stopping in Griel for so long is because there's a bit of research I need to do. My former teammate, Talyor, who me and the newlyweds formed Team STRR with, was raised there. And also murdered there as well. The strange thing is, it's like he never existed. He had no records in the Hunter Database, no mission reports, nothing. It's like he never existed... And that's why we're going to Griel. I want to figure out who Taylor truly was."

Neo stared forward, vacantly. She had nothing to contribute to the conversation, because there was nothing really to say. The two walked in silence, until nightfall.

They set up camp, which consisted of just a fire pit and a tent, and ate a decent meal of tuna and leeks. Sonatro offered to take first watch, so they wouldn't get ambushed by Grimm. In the meantime, he drew on a sketchpad, images of Grimm, hunters and cities. He watch ended when Neo tapped him on the shoulder. He nodded, getting inside the tent and falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

o0o0o0o

Blinking his eyes, Sonatro awoke with a large yawn. Stretching his arms out, he started to pack a few things up before heading outside. Neo was waiting for a him, a smile on her face. "Morning, sleepyhead," she signed. Sonatro scoffed. "Ready to get going?" She nodded, getting up to help him disassemble the tent.

They were back on the road within the hour, making good time. "We're only about two or three hours away from Griel," Sonatro commented aloud. "So it's not too much longer, for sure."

A pungent smell filled the Branded man's nostrils. "Neo, do you smell that?" The small girl didn't respond, but instead had a look of horror on her face. She point to the horizon, where smoke was steadily rising. Griel was burning.

"We need to move! Let's go!" Sonatro shifted to his lion form, Neo mounting him. He sprinted towards the burning city, hoping that not everyone would be dead.

o0o0o0o0o

When they arrived, people were running away from the city. Sonatro and Neo split up, trying to get as many people out of their homes as possible. Sonatro ran inside the nearest building, helping people get out. He slashed through debris and pulled a younger child out of the flames. Upon setting him down outside, the boy cried, "there's still someone in there!" Running back in, Sonatro stopped dead in his tracks, as if he saw a ghost. And he thought he had.

Taylor stood in front of him, clear as day. Jet black hair, claymore in hand. He wore a blue jacket and black pants, and was as tall as Sonatro. He cracked a devilish grin.

"Taylor?! What are you doing here! We though you were dead! Where have you been?!"

"Did you forget your old teammate, Sona? Or did you never care in the first place?! You thought I was dead for years! You were the only people that treated me like I existed and then you abandoned me cause you thought I was dead?!"

"Taylor, why are you doing this?" Taylor lifted his claymore, holding it in both hands, ready to fight. Sonatro stood in a Draw stance, scared for his life.

"I'm helping Cinder now. At least she acknowledges that I exist. At least she knows what I'm capable of. At least she is trying to change this world! What was your dream?! To make a mark on this world?! How has that turned out for you?! If you can't figure it out, I'm the one changing this world now. Not you, not Ryder, not Rina, not that ice cream scoop friend of yours, ME." Taylor charged towards Sonatro, with every intention to kill.

A/N: LE GASP! IT IS ZE PLOT TWIST! I just did that. Honestly, I really like how I wrote this. I'm also really happy I've been able to have daily updates on this story.

Also, shout out to my friend with MPD, that's actually where I got the names of the rest of Sonatro's team from.

One last thing! If you can guess what the tuna and leeks is a reference to, you're awesome.


	7. Chapter 7

Sonatro drew his sword, blocking the blow from Taylor, but the force was still enough to make him skid for a bit. Looking out of a window, Neo was assisting with the evacuation. With that off his mind, Sonatro was able to put his full thoughts into his fight.

Pushing back against his opponent, Sonatro caused Taylor to stumble. The Branded Hunter stood in his upper stance, where he attacked with three advancing slashes. Taylor blocked the first two attacks with his weapon, and caught the sword in his hand during the third slash. He grinned as Sonatro attempted to free his weapon. Taylor delivered a swift kick to Sonatro's stomach, causing him to lose his weapon as he was shot backwards.

While in the air, Sonatro switched to his lion form and twisted to land on his feet. Dashing forward with a roar, he delivered a full body tackle to Taylor, who slid backwards slightly, and releasing his hold on Wyrmslayer. Grabbing his weapon, Sonatro quickly switched back, taking a Clear Stance. The mechanism in his sword switched to a vial of electric dust, as he thrusted forward with a Thunder Stab. Taylor simply took the blow, then hit Sonatro in the side with his claymore, sending Sonatro flying through the side of the building.

He rolled on the ground upon landing, hitting the wall of another building. Using his sword to support himself, Sonatro forced himself to his feet. Standing in a draw stance, he waited for his opponent to follow. Taylor walked slowly through the smoke, holding his weapon. Before Sonatro could even react, Taylor was behind him, whispering "You'll remember this, I promise." He swung his claymore straight into Sonatro's back, which sent him flying once more. There was a green glow around him as his aura fully depleted. Standing back up, Neo ran up to him, placing a hand on his back. The two ran off, Sonatro bruised and battered, Neo's hair burnt at the tips. Taylor simply laughed as they ran. "You can run, Sonatro, but you'll never hide. I will find you. And I will make you remember."

o0o0o0o

Sonatro collapsed to the ground a few miles out of town, his body in pain all over. Neo was having trouble breathing. She coughed hard, clearing her throat. She picked up Sonatro, and helped him continue walking.

"That was Taylor. He's alive. And angry." Sonatro chuckled before coughing. "Ouch... Look, Neo, we need to get the fuck outa here..." Neo nodded, trying to pick up their pace. She signed, "what did he say?"

"He's working with Cinder now. He's angry because we thought he was dead. No one ever found his body. We couldn't have know he was alive. He was presumed dead." Neo nodded, not responding.

"Hey! Who's there!?" A voice rang out. Looking to the origin, Sonatro saw a girl rabbit Fanus, with a box on her back. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand at the sight of the battered Hunter. "Oh my gosh! Let me help!" She ran over to assist Neo in carrying Sonatro. "Don't worry sir. You're gonna be alright. My name is Velvet, by the way." She led the way to the Hunter camp.

o0o0o0o

Upon arrival, Sonatro was immediately rushed to the medical tent. He ended up sitting on a cot, waiting as Velvet began pulling the splinters out of his back. "Thank you so much, Velvet. Ahh!" She pulled the first splinter out. "Don't worry, I'm alright. Just surprised me." The Fanus girl continued, asking quietly, "So what happened to you that did this? Or who attacked you, I guess."

"He's a member of Cinder's crew. His name is Taylor Teyal, a former teammate of mine. And bad news." Sonatro grunted as Velvet continued pulling splinters from his back.

After a grueling 10 minutes, Velvet patched up Sonatro, and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Hey, before you go, can I take a picture of you?" Tilting his head, Sonatro nodded. "And... You'll need to have your weapon as well."

Picking up Wyrmslayer from where it leaned on the side of the cot, Sonatro sheathed it, standing in a Draw Stance. "Is this alright, Velvet?"

"Yeah, that'll work." The camera flashed, indicating the picture was taken. "Can I ask that you spar with someone? You're someone totally new to me and I wanted to see how you fight."

Sonatro nodded, throwing on his red jacket and walking outside. Velvet followed him, and the two were greeted by Neo, who held her parasol over her shoulder.

"Feeling better?" The girl signed. "Yes, much. Thank you for asking." A shutter sound caused the two to turn around. Velvet had a cheeky smile. "Sorry! It was a good shot."

"Not a problem. Neo, you up for a sparring match? I've never actually fought against you and I'd like to see what you can do."

The small girl nodded, and the two walked to a more open space in the camp. Sonatro drew his sword, and Neo simply opened her parasol. Velvet sat on the side, watching in excitement.

o0o0o0o

A/N: I kinda just went crazy with my imagination, I was actually working on this for two days. I wanted to make Taylor seem like a major threat. And Sonatro and Neo are sparring cause Velvet just wants to know how to use their weapons.


	8. Chapter 8

Sonatro struck first, performing a quick draw as the mechanism in his sword switched to a vial of ice dust. The air froze, but Neo had managed to dodge, and landed on top of the ice, delivering a low kick to Sonatro face. He decided to attempt a disarming strike, aiming for Neo's arms, but the area where she was shattered like glass, and she was behind him, sweeping him off his feet with a low kick.

"When Rina said that one day someone will sweep me off my feet, I don't think she meant this." Kicking his legs forward and pushing off the ground with his hands, Sonatro recovered quick enough to get a few slashes off on Neo. Surprised, she flipped around him, but he was ready. Switching to his lion form, he dashed away before switching back and changing his weapon mode.

He fired high powered magnum shots at Neo, who either dodged them or blocked them with her parasol. A small click indicated Velvet had taken another picture, but Sonatro hadn't noticed. Running in close, Sonatro did a Swallow Strike, performing three successive slashes. Neo sidestepped the attacks, but wasn't expecting the immediate burst of fire afterwards. She was blown backwards, but landed on her feet.

As the match went one, Velvet was approached by her team mate, Coco. "Hey Velvy, filling up that portfolio of yours?"

"Hi Coco! Why yes I am! Which means I also gotta see these two fight."

Coco turned to watch the fight progress. Sonatro was running out of dust vials and energy, and Neo was barely tired. Noticing something, Coco squinted. "Who are our combatants?"

Cheerily, Velvet replied, "Well, our green haired man is named Sonatro, former leader of Team STRR. And the girl he's fight is named Neo. She's mu-" Velvet stopped talking as Coco's weapon transformed from a small hang bag into a huge mini gun. She aimed at Sonatro and began firing.

"What the hell?!" Sonatro was suddenly dodging a wall of bullets, and saw a girl in a beret holding a massive mini gun. "Velvet! Can we get some help?" Neo ended up hiding behind a rock, startled by the sudden attack. Sonatro began spinning his sword like a windmill, blocking all the shots he could. He still got hit every so often.

"Coco, stop! What're you doing?!"

"Velvet, are you brain dead?! Sonatro's the one that burnt down Griel!"

An icy chill went down Sonatro's spine. Switching to lion form, he charged through the wall of bullets and pounced onto Coco, knocking her to the ground. Transforming back, he asked, "and who told you that, huh?"

She kicked him away, standing up. Sonatro landed on his feet. Neo approached him, standing by his side. Velvet stood next to Coco.

"Because we saw it. You attacked a harmless man with black hair and then ran."

A/N: I'm sorry I'm late in getting this one out for you guys! I've been somewhat busy and never really had time to write. That and a little bit of writer's block kicked my ass.

So yeah, I made Sonatro about equal to Neo in combat, hope that isn't too strong, and that it emphasized how strong Taylor really is. Fit a bad pun in there, managed to have a good ending, everything. I'd also like to apologize for how short it is, shorter chapters let me make things a little more dense.


	9. Chapter 9

Sonatro was absolutely bewildered. What the hell was happening? He didn't attack Taylor unprovoked... Did he? No... Taylor attacked first... What was going on? But how does him attacking Taylor indicate he was he one to burn the town?

"Hold on... So you're saying because I supposedly attacked the Black haired man, that I was the one to burn the town down? What kind of logical leap is that?" Sonatro stood leaning on his sword, confused.

Coco nodded in response. "It's what everyone assumed. You were seen hitting the man with a fire attack, and we saw you use the same exact attack against Scoops here." She picked her weapon back up and switched its form. "You have no way to prove your innocence."

Neo started signing, "I saw the black haired man attack Sonatro first. Maybe I was hallucinating, I'm not sure. I Sonatro well enough that he wouldn't attack for no reason."

"Coco... I think our lion friend is right here. There was no reason for-" Velvet was interrupted by a resounding smack to the face.

"Shut up Velvet! Nobody cares what you think!"

"Really now?!" Velvet retorted.

"Yes really!"

"Maybe if we listened to what I had said Fox would be alive and Yatsuhashi wouldn't be paralyzed! It's your fault we stayed fought a losing battle against that Grimm horde!"

The response was met with dead silence. Coco stood inches from Velvet's face. She dug her nails into the Fanus girl's ear, drawing blood. Velvet didn't flinch. "If you ever mention that again, I will give you something equally as unforgettable."

Coco released her hand, and solemnly walked away as Sonatro faced Velvet.

"Does that happen often?"

She sighed. "Far too often. I hate it. When we were fighting Grimm at Beacon, Coco insisted on staying and fighting. She thought for some reason we could win, but it was hopeless. It led to our teammate Fox getting killed, and another, Yatsuhashi, being paralyzed. It's weighed hard on her for a long time."

Sonatro sighed. "Loss affects everyone differently. Some take it easier than others. Coco took it really hard, it seems. Let's get back into camp, and you can tell me the whereabouts of some people."

Upon returning to camp, a blonde haired boy greeted them. "Hey, Velvet. How's it going? Working on photography again? Who're your friends here?"

Velvet giggled. "Nice to see you, Jaune. This is Sonatro," - he waved in greeting - "and this is Neo." The pink and brown haired girl bowed.

Sonatro decided to cut to the chase. "Alright. So this is what needs to happen. Jaune, I need you and your team to go to Patch." He pulled out a map, and circled the location of Ruby's house. "Ruby lives in a small house around here. She'll tell you what you'll be doing from there. Can you do that?" Jaune nodded.

"I'll make sure it happens."

"Thanks kid." Jaune walked over to his team to tell them what was happening.

"Sonatro, sir, would you mind sleeping in the tent next to mine?" Velvet had made the request with a sheepish look on her face.

"That's not a problem dear." Sonatro looked to the horizon. "The sun's already setting. I'm gonna set my tent up and turn in for the night." Neo nodded, yawning.

o0o0o0o0o0o

There was a slight noise outside of Sonatro's tent, enough to wake him. Rubbing his eyes, he grabbed his sword and exited his tent, wearing a black hoodie and gray sweatpants. Taking a peek inside Velvet's tent, he knew something was wrong. Switching forms so he could see better, he noticed what looked like drag marks in the dirt. He could make out two scents. First was Velvet. Second was a scent he didn't recognize at first. A realization hit him, and he began to follow the two scents.

He came to a small cabin in the woods. The two scents were there, but there was another scent... It reeked of blood. Dashing inside, Sonatro only saw Velvet, slumped in the corner, arms covered in cuts and wounds. Transforming back, he ran up to her and started ripping strips of his hoodie up, wrapping them around her arms.

"Don't worry, it'll be okay, it'll be okay. I just need you to say something to me."

"S-sona? Is that you?" He nodded, continuing to tend to her wounds. Thinking fast, he switched to a vial of fire dust in his sword. "This is gonna hurt like hell."

Velvet screamed in pain as the hot steel of Sonatro's sword touched her wounds, cauterizing the cuts on her right arm. He ran out of dust, and used the scraps of cloth he tore off his hoodie to cover her left arm. "Listen dear, can you walk?" Velvet nodded slightly, and stood up, only to stumble and fall. Sonatro picked her up, and helped her walk. "Lean on me. Who did this to you?"

"C-Coco... She's bitter... Too bitter..." Sonatro nodded. Coco was acting like Taylor. Angry and confused, lashing out at the nearest person. "S-sona? Was is that on your arm?"

Underneath the hoodie, Sonatro wore a short sleeve shirt, his brand visible. "That? It's my brand." He saw no need to lie. Velvet was a kind individual.

"Ah. So the branded has finally shown himself." A boy with gray hair stepped out onto the path.

"Mercury Black. Took you long enough the show up." Sonatro drew his sword. The sound of glass reforming was heard nearby, as Neo rushed to take Velvet to safety. She nodded to Sonatro, who kicked behind him, teleporting Neo once more behind Mercury, this time Velvet in tow.

"No more distractions? Good. Let's rock." Sonatro made the first attack, making a slant wise cut. Mercury blocked it with his hands, but was immediately met with a burst of electricity. Skidding backwards, Mercury immediately began rapidly kicking, Sonatro moving his sword equally as fast. Changing to Lion form, he backed away, thinking of his plan. "So he's fighting at a close range... As long as can keep him away from me, I'll have the advantage." Changing back, Sonatro turned to face his enemy.

Mercury charged forward, but Sonatro was prepared. He sheathed his sword, and drew it at the last possible second, not only interrupting his attacker, but striking with significant power. Mercury tumbled to the ground, but rolled back onto his feet charging yet again. Standing in a clear stance, Sonatro dodged perfectly, transferring himself to an upper stance, sword held above his head.

Mercury attacked with an axe kick, which landed on Sonatro sword. He countered with three advancing slashes, followed with a Flame Grater, which blew Mercury away.

He stood up, smirking. "For a Branded, you got lucky. Neo, maybe not so much." A scream came from camp. "SONA!"

"Might wanna go help them, if I were you." Mercury winked at Sonatro. Some sort of impulse made the green haired Hunter walked up to his opponent, their faces inches away from each other. Sonatro Transformed then and there, tackling Mercury as hard as possible before going to save his friend.

###

A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait! Writers block hit me hard all the sudden so yeah. Hope you enjoy!


	10. Chapter 10

Skidding to a halt, Sonatro found that Neo was safe. He cursed himself for being fooled so easily. Looking to Velvet, the Fanus girl was shaken badly. Her entire body trembled, possibly for the pain she just endured, and possibly because she could be going into shock. Her aura would've had to been depleted to do any significant damage, so Coco must've been out for blood.

Ducking into their tent, Neo grabbed a vial of fire Dust and came back out. Tossing it to Sonatro, he placed it in his sword and began removing the scraps of cloth around Velvet's still bleeding arm, and began cauterizing the wounds once more. Screams of pain were muffled by Neo, who placed her hand over Velvet's mouth. They didn't want to cause any major disturbance in the camp.

The smell of burning flesh dissipated as Velvet stopped screaming. Sonatro asked quietly, "So can you tell us what exactly happened, Velvet?" She nodded weakly.

"I woke up to getting a gag shoved into my mouth, and I looked up to see Coco. She tied my arms behind me and started dragging me to the cabin you found me in. She strapped me down to a chair, and started scratching at me with her nails. They were freakishly long, and hurt so badly. She threw me into the corner and ran out through the back door of the cabin."

Sonatro tilted his head. Something wasn't right. "Was she clothed in her normal outfit?" Velvet nodded. A voice called out.

"Sonatro, what're you doing near Velvet? Did something happen?" Coco was wandering towards them, rubbing her eyes, yawning. "I heard a bit of noise outside and-" A look of horror spread across the girl's face as she ran over and knelt by Velvet's side. "Who did this to you?!"

"What do you mean," Velvet answered with a cough. "You did this."

"What? That's impossible! I was sleeping the whole night!" Upon further inspection, Coco was wearing a tee shirt, and had a pair of jeans on. Velvet said she was wearing the full battle gear. Something didn't add up quite right.

"You're correct." Another voice, exactly like Coco's, rang from a nearby tree. A woman who looked exactly like Coco jumped from a branch. Landing on her feet, she smiled. "I was the one who did that to Velvet." The lookalike began transforming before everyone's eyes, growing a few inches, hair turning to a bright white. In her place was a woman with piercing red eyes, wearing dark blue jeans, orange shoes, green gloves and a purple shirt. Her long hair was kept in place with a large yellow hairpin.

"My name is Prisma. Prisma Galeix."

Sonatro felt something burn is his heart. She was lying. He had no siblings. He drew his sword, pointing it to her. "Do not disgrace my family name! My father never had any other kids besides me!" Sonatro charged forward, slashing furiously.

Neo moved to protect Prisma, standing directly in front of Sonatro and catching the sword mid swing, wrenching it from his hands and tossing it away. She signed to him, "Stop. She has no intent to harm us." She led Sonatro away to speak in private.

Coco decided to speak her mind. "I'm sorry, miss Prisma, but what the fuck is with that outfit? It clashes so badly!"

Prisma's face grew red with anger. "Are you serious!? I was named after a prism! I figured I'd go rainbow colored! What's wrong with that?!"

"It looks terrible, that's the problem!" Velvet decided to stop this argument.

"Okay, that's enough you two. Prisma, what was your reason for hurting me so badly?"

A fire grew is Prisma's eyes as she responded. "For one, I wanted to get Sonatro's attention. Two, you're the daughter of the wench my father abandoned our mother for!"

"What?! My father would never do that! Nor would he dare to give birth to a Branded!" She spat the last word, angered.

Taking the hair pin out, Prisma's long white hair flowed down to her hips. The pin transformed into a small case, which then changed into a large glaive, which she spun around her hand. "I really don't think you want to fight me, dear. I'm more powerful than you could possibly imagine."

Velvet gritted her teeth, and reached for the box on her waist. Coco placed an arm in front of her. "Don't. You've barely got anything in there. Enough to fight for five minutes at most." Nodding, Velvet walked away.

"I'm not done with you."

o0o0o0o0o

"She can't be my sister! My father was killed after my birth." Sonatro was discussing with Neo the possible origins of Prisma.

"Maybe she was born before you. She look a bit older than you," Neo signed back. "There has to be a chance. We can't rule out anything. Besides, she has an extension of your semblance. Ask her a few questions, see if she's a branded as well. Then we can figure it all out."

Sonatro nodded. "Alright. Then let's go do that."

A/N Note: I am so so so sorry it's been so long between chapters. Summer's winding down, so school starts soon. Been getting ready for all that crap. So hope you guys enjoy!


	11. Chapter 11

Lost deep in thought, Sonatro was wandering through the camp when he bumped into Prisma. The two fell over, Sonatro making sure to position his hands in a decent manner. "Why hello there. I wanted to ask you something, actually." Standing up, he offered a hand to Prisma, who accepted.

"That's fine. Talk with me as we walk though." The pair began to make their way to a pond outside of the camp, near a hill.

"So... What was your dad's name?" Sonatro asked quietly.

Prisma slapped him upside the head. "The same as yours, dumbass! Teyal Galeix. Our mother was named Bassill. Simple as that. What, you still don't believe that I'm your sister?"

"Well yeah... I never really heard of you until now." He scar her awkwardly at the back of his head. "Where've you been? And why didn't you make yourself known sooner?"

Prisma puffed in frustration. "Because I am not exactly proud of what I did to help our mother while she was pregnant with you. That's when dad left us for Velvet's mother."

Sonatro pondered for a moment. "Let me guess, the usual route for Branded females?"

"Yes. Being a prostitute isn't all it's cracked up to be, let me say that." She shivered at the memory. "But it helped my mom pay for everything, so it worked. Then once you were born, I was offered apprenticeship under a Huntress and the rest is history, I guess."

The two eventually made it to the edge of the pond, where Sonatro lie down, closing his eyes. Prisma sat down next to him. They heard the sound of approaching footprints.

"Hey, I think we got a bit of company here." A kick to the skull sent him flying into the water. "Ack!" He spat water from his mouth, and stood up. Velvet stood in front of Prisma, a hologram of Crescent Rose in her hand.

"Payback Time." Velvet spun the scythe around his hand, and slashed at Prisma. The white haired girl rolled out of the way, and pulled the hairpin, transforming it into a small brown briefcase. "You're seriously not going to be happy if you fight me."

Velvet ignored the warning entirely and attacked, slashing at Prisma's torso. The briefcase in the Branded girl's hands turned into a huge shield, blocking the blow entirely. In then changed into a dueling pistol, and she fired six shots at Velvet. The Fanus girl formed a hard light version of Crocea Mors and blocked the shots, and slashed back in retaliation. The pistol transformed into dual swords, and caught the single sword in-between. A pair of greaves formed around Prisma's feet as she kicked Velvet in the stomach, following it up with a flip kick square to the jaw.

Sliding backwards, a hard light Myrtenaster formed as Velvet rolled backwards and stood on her feet. Prisma scoffed as the greaves formed back into a hairpin. "You're not even worth fighting. Why don't you go home and cry to your whore of a mother and sleaze of a father?" As she turned around, Velvet attempted to attack, but was met with Sonatro's sword. He pushed backed, causing the Fanus to stumble.

"Trust me, you don't want to deal with either of us. You're a student. We went through more than you could possibly imagine to get to where we are." He lifted the sleeve of his shirt to reveal his brand. "You are not ready to fight us." Prisma beckoned to him.

"You coming or what, brother?" Sheathing his weapon, Sonatro glared daggers. "Do not fuck with us."

With those words, he shifted to catch up with his sister, leaving Velvet angered and lying on the floor.


	12. Chapter 12

Neo sat in camp by her lonesome, watching other hunters spar. She stifled a yawn as Jaune approached her.

"Hey! So you're Sonatro's friend, right? What's your name?" Neo smiled at the boy's friendly nature, and pulled a notebook out of her jacket.

"My name is Neo. Pleasure to meet you." The woman turned to the next page of the note while listening intently for Jaune's reply.

"Nice to meet you as well. The name is Jaune Arc. Leader of... Excuse me, former leader of Team JNPR." He looked down at his feet. Neo could see on his face that he was upset, but at who exactly she didn't know. She quickly scribbled, "Why former?"

Jaune was expecting the question, but was hoping he wouldn't need to answer. He let out a sigh before answering. "One of our team mates, Phyrra Nikos, was killed during the Battle of Beacon." Neo nodded, realizing now who he was upset at. "And I partially blame myself for it. I could've helped her, but I wasn't able to. I could've made all the difference."

Neo put a caring hand on his shoulder. She wrote with her free hand, "Do you believe in destiny Jaune? If so, then maybe this was destined. There may not have been anything you could've done to possibly change this outcome. Everything happens for a reason. So don't blame yourself for it."

Jaune was reading as she wrote, and simply nodded in understanding. "Yeah, maybe. But I still miss her."

Neo knew exactly how Jaune felt. Roman was so close to her and to lose him in the blink of an eye was terrifying at first. She blamed herself. But now, she sort of felt empty. She wrote, "is it that sort of hollow feeling?"

"Exactly. But let's get moving. We should be doing something now, rather than sitting around and moping." He offered a hand, and Neo accepted, standing up. "Would you be willing to spar with me? Or am I way out of my league?"

Neo giggled, nodding. "That's fine," Jaune answered, smiling. "I'll be the first to admit I'm not the best fighter. Maybe I could find someone else to spar with for a bit. Is your friend Sonatro available?"

Neo nodded, disappearing for a moment to get near the lake shore. She looked over her shoulder and noticed Velvet, sitting on the ground, looking through her photographs. The two locked eyes and Velvet had a look of fire, causing Neo to follow after Sonatro.

When she caught up with Prisma and Sonatro, she signed to him, "Jaune would like to spar if you can spare the time." Sonatro tilted his head, then nodded.

"Alright then. May as well, there's not much else to do." Shifting to his lion form, he sprinted back to the camp, wanting to do something besides wandering around.

o0o0o0o0o

Shifting back, Sonatro skidded to a halt near Jaune. "I was told you'd like to spar, no?" The blonde shook his head.

"That's not actually it...I wanted to ask you something." Jaune scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "What was it like when you lost someone?"

Sonatro was taken aback by the question. He understood why the younger man had asked however. "It wasn't easy. At first it was hard. It's difficult that someone you considered a friend suddenly is gone. Overtime it gets better. But there's still this feeling of emptiness. And that never leaves. But that gets filled by the other people you know and love. It's never mends fully," Sonatro explained, taking a pause.

"Think of it like a vial of Dust. You use the Dust one time, and then it's done. However, that Dust will be replaced at some point. You know what I'm saying?" Sonatro was slightly worried he said the wrong thing. However, Jaune nodded.

"I see what you're saying. Except the vial of Dust is really rare." Jaune tilted his head. "Wait, what kind of Dust is rare?"

Sonatro blinked. He hadn't though about Dust rarity in a long time, not since Taylor talked his ear off about it about two years ago. "I wanna say that poison Dust is one of the more rare ones, but I don't use much Dust myself."

Jaune's mood had lightened a bit. "Really? What sort of Dusts do you use? I don't ever fight with the stuff. Makes me sneeze."

A chuckle emerged from Sonatro. "Understandable. I really only use ice, fire and electricity dust, I've never really thought of using other kinds. Maybe I should try that though." The Branded surveyed the camp. "Is there some sort of place for Dust storage around here?"

Coco came up behind the two. "Hello Jaune. Hello Sonatro. Have you two seen Velvet around?"

Sonatro shook his head. "Nope. I think that she may have wanted to ask Prisma something, so she'll be down by the lake." He kept a straight face, showing no evidence of lying. "Oh, and is there some sort of-"

"Dust storage, right?" Coco cut him off. "It's the tent next to the center there, by the fire pit. Thanks for telling me where Velvet is." She walked off, leaving Sonatro and Jaune alone.

"I'm gonna go check out that Dust, see what I can figure out. Later." Sonatro stood up and made his way for the storage tent.

o0o0o0o0o

A/N: Yeah! Heart to heart chapter. I tend to write longer dialogue than fight scenes, which is alright.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hello again! This is a pretty big chapter, and action filled as well. So I decided to include a few songs to play in the background! It's not needed but enhances the mood.**

(Wayward Souls OST: The only way out- Reprise)

A huge bang filled the air, interrupting the nighttime silence. Sonatro scrambled out of bed, changing quickly into his battle gear. He shook Neo and Prisma awake, who followed suit. The trio made their way towards the rising smoke, where they were met with a huge pack of Grimm and almost an army of White Fang members.

Sonatro thought quickly, sending orders to his allies. "Neo, take my jacket. There's pockets to put vials of Dust. Go to the Dust tent, fill up as many different vials as you can with all the varieties you possibly can. After that, warn the east side of the camp. Prisma, warn the west side. Coco in particular, we need her fire power." The two darted off as Sonatro started to fight through the oncoming horde. A few shots fired from the distance, as Ruby and Taiyang approached to help.

"Hey guys! We're here to help out!" Ruby smiled, "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Galeix!"

Sonatro grinned. "Nice to see you as well Miss Rose." He turned to her father, a bewildered look on his face. "Tai, what're you two doing here?"

"We figured we should visit to make sure things were going well. You guys obviously need our help though." With those words, the duo ran straight into the fray.

The sound of a minigun started slowly winding faster and faster. A storm of bullets filled the air, mowing down a group of White Fang. Coco looked to her side at Sonatro and gave a thumbs up. "Glad to help out sir!" Neo came back with his jacket and tossed him one of each Dust kind that worked with Wyrmslayer. He loaded an extra of Fire, Ice and Electric, as well as an Earth and an Air.

Prisma came up behind him soon after, followed by Jaune, Ren and Nora. "Sonatro, we need to target their leader. Otherwise this isn't gonna end. Kill the king and the country dies with him." Her brother nodded, and motioned for her to follow him. They fought against the stream of oncoming Grimm and White Fang troops, until Sonatro saw a familiar face, wielding a claymore.

"Prisma, you should go on ahead. I need to deal with this asshole." She nodded, running forward still. Sonatro drew his weapon, facing Taylor. He brushed his hand through his hair, a devilish grin on his face.

"Are you ready to finally end this?" Taylor slammed the ground with his weapon.

"Yes. Let's end this."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Neo continued tossing vials of Dust to various hunters, but there wasn't much of it left. She had to make another run, but there wasn't time. Without her assistance, the Grimm would easily make it into the camp. An idea clicked in her head, and she poked Ren with her parasol. He turned and gave him an Electric Dust and pointed to Coco, then a Fire Dust, pointing to Nora.

"You need me to give these to them?" She nodded, and Ren made his way. "Coco, take this and use it!" He sprinted past her, putting it in her hand within a split second. Nora opened her grenade launcher as Ren put it in the Dust slot as he ran past.

Coco shoved the vial into her gun, and began firing. The bullets started bouncing after hitting their first target, like chain lightning. Nora began launching incendiary bombs into the crowd. But the Grimm kept on coming.

Jaune ran up next to Neo. "We need to fight the strongest Grimm. That should scare off the rest of them." Nepotalian pointed to the group of three Death Stalkers coming towards them.

Jaune sighed. "Those are the ones…"

o0o0o0o0o0o0o

( Wayward Souls OST: The Undead Rise)

Prisma skidded to a halt. A man with blazing red hair stood in her path. He smirked.

"Why hello. Has another Huntress come to the slaughter?" He placed a hand on his sheathed weapon. "Or will you actually put up a fight?"

The white haired Huntress was thinking rapidly of what weapon to use. There was no way she could use hand to hand, he'd slice her apart before she got close. But he may be able to block any gunfire she sends his way. She clutched her head in pain, and fell to the ground. The man laughed and kicked her.

"My, my. Looks like little rainbow here is hurting," the man cooed. "You make me think of a little whore I had once. I hit her and whipped her. She didn't deserve any special treatment. She was Branded."

( Wayward Souls OST: Second Wind)

Something clicked inside Prisma. She stood up, fists clenched. "You know that little whore, Adam?" He backed up a step in surprise. "That girl you whipped, you beat, you insulted. She has a name." A hand came up to the hairpin, removing it. "She has a story. A drive. A brother and a mother." The hairpin formed into a whip. "She did what was needed to survive. But there was one man she remembered. A man named Adam, who whipped and beat her. She worked for her family, but she kept going for one reason alone." Prisma looked up at the man, fire blazing inside her eyes. "To return the favor. To do to him what he did to her. To make him realize the pain that she has been through her entire life." He drew his sword, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.

"That girl's right in front of you. Sister of Sonatro Galeix, the Lion Blade. I am the Prismatic Fighter, Prisma Galeix. And my name will be the last thing you remember before you die." She whipped the mask on Adam's face, breaking it off. Eyes were the gate to the soul. And Adam's soul was bloody.

"It's time for you to face the music, you murder."


	14. Chapter 14

Sparks flew, illuminating the otherwise darkened night. Blades clashed at a furious speed as Sonatro and Taylor fought. A streak of electricity flew across the field.

Taylor scoffed. "You haven't even learned from last time, have you? Same as always." He swung his weapon into Sonatro's side, sending him sliding sideways. A quick roar was heard as a lion charged towards Taylor, unbalancing him. Changing back, Sonatro asked a simple question.

"Why are you fighting on the side of Cider? You wanted things to be better for everyone. For Fanus, for the Branded." Tears began to well in his eyes, still in disbelief of his friends sudden betrayal.

"The answer is simple." Standing back up, Taylor smiled in sadistic glee. "The rest of the world forgot about me. I'm making them to remember."

Sonatro stood in a different stance, one he had been training to do for the last few months. His sword was sheathed, held outwards and tilted upwards. Taylor tried to rush forward, but his attack was easily avoided by the Hunter. A quick draw surrounded Taylor in chunks of rock as a dark blue signified that his aura was depleted..

"I am peerless. You cannot hope to defeat me." Taylor laughed and broke his stone bindings apart with ease. He jumped into the air to slam down on Sonatro. It was his last mistake.

Time slowed to a crawl, at least Sonatro's perception of it. Taylor left himself open to a beheading cut. One draw and it would be over. His desire for destruction and his bloodthirsty rage. It would also end a friendship that lasted for years. Countless memories of a person who was closer than family. A friend who he had helped through tough times and had helped him through times equally as hard. Sonatro exhaled, and drew his sword. And it was over.

Taylor's head fell separately from his body, both hitting the ground with a thud. Sonatro sheathed Wyrmslayer, and picked up the claymore. "Do you remember what this weapon is called, Taylor? It's called Change Bringer, and you've misused it. This was made for you to bring good changes to this world. To make everyone treated equally." Tears filled his eyes, and he began to choke on his words. "You've done the opposite of what it was meant to do, which is why you can no longer have this." Shouldering the weapon, the Hunter watched as the body of his former friend dissipated in a dark blue light. Rain began to fall, masking the tears streaming down Sonatro's face. "Goodbye Taylor. May you finally find peace."

A scream of fury sounded from the other side of the battle field, carrying Prisma's voice. Sonatro sprinted towards his sister's aide.

Prisma was not in danger. She was holding her own against Adam. Switching from a whip to a long sword, the two dueled at blinding speed, slicing individual raindrops, creating a dry dome in the field. The rain fell onto them the moment Adam lost concentration for a split second, allowing Prisma to fling his sword away. As he reached to grab in, Prisma swept him off of his feet and stomped on him. "You're not getting away. Not yet."

She formed a whip and began to strike Adam relentlessly, laughing maniacally. "This is what you did to me! Every day! This is how you treated me! And now You will suffer!" Adam curled into a ball, unable to defend himself.

The two came into Sonatro's view, and he was shocked at the sight. Prisma was mercilessly attacking her foe as he cowered in pain. The Hunter ran up behind his sister and grabbed her arms in order to restrain her. She roared out, trying to break free.

"What are you doing? Get away! I can't hold her forever." Adam Staggered to his feet, grabbing his weapon and running, scared for his life.

"Sonatro! Let me go! He has yet to pay for his transgressions!" Prisma squirmed in her brother's arms, trying to break away and chase after her former tormenter. Sonatro was unable to hold her any longer, and she immediately turned her rage towards him. She whipped him as Sonatro simply took the blows.

"If you kill him, you become no better than him." She continued her attack, forcing Sonatro to the ground.

"I'm already below him! I'm Branded! We have nowhere to go in our lives!" Prisma let out a short gasp of surprise, and the attacks stopped. Sonatro stood up to be greeted by Velvet, his step-sister. She offered him a helping hand. "Thank you, sister… It's okay for me to say that, right?" He took her hand as she giggled.

"Yes, that's okay. Want me to get our stubborn-ass sister back to camp?" Sonatro nodded. "Please do… I'm not in great shape, you can tell." Laughing slightly, Sonatro limped back towards camp. Neo ran up to him, taking a majority of his weight. They returned to camp, and were met by applause. Sonatro went to rest in his tent.

The tent rustled as Neo entered, hoping to speak with Sonatro. He was crying, likely from the death of his friend. She tapped his shoulder.

"Neo, please leave. I want to be alone." She tapped again, causing him to turn around. A hoarse cough emerged from Neo, as she opened her mouth.

"I-" She coughed harder still. "I lo-" Something got caught in her throat, stopping her from talking further. Sonatro rubbed her back as she coughed. Suddenly, a Grimm bug came out of Neo's mouth, causing her to jump backwards and scream. Sonatro killed it, and put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay, Neo? What was that thing?"

Neo signed, "I have no idea… wait, did I scream earlier?" Sonatro nodded, and the girl attempted to speak once more, but her words were barely comprehensible. Sonatro could only make out the words, "I love you."

They were the only words that mattered. He embraced her, a smile on his face. "I love you too."


End file.
